Pizza Dough

Ingredients

7 1/2 cups of flour

4 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3 cups warm water

*Whisk flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl.

*Gradually add 3 cups of warm water and mix together with a wooden spoon.

*Using your hands, gently bring the dough together to form a ball.

*Move the dough into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. 

*Set aside in a warm, draft free area for at least 18 hours.

(At least 18 hours later)

*Transfer dough to a floured word surface and gently shape into a rough rectangle. 

*Divide the dough into 5 equal portions.

*Working with one portion at a time, take the four corners and fold them in towards the middle. Turn seam down on a lightly floured baking sheet and dust the top with flour. 

*Cover with a clean, damp towel and set aside for at least 1 hour.

(To make the pizza)

*Position oven rack in the top third of the oven. 

*Turn oven on the highest temperature for 1 full hour.

*Don't use a rolling pin. Use your hands to stretch the dough out.

*Place pizza dough on top of the pizza stone in the oven for 2 minutes.

*After the 2 minutes, apply the toppings you want and cook for about 8-9 more minutes.

*Allow the oven to reheat after each pizza for about 5 minutes.

Cole Slaw

Ingredients

1/2 large head of shredded cabbage

2 shredded carrots

1/4 shredded white onion

1 cup of mayonnaise & 1/2 tsp ground dry mustard mixed

2 tbs sour cream

2 tbs sugar

2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 tbs apple cider vinegar

*In a large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and onion.

*Whisk in a separate bowl, mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, celery seed, salt, pepper and vinegar together until well combined.

*Pour dressing over cabbage mixture.

Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can meld.

I made pulled pork sandwiches with the cole slaw. 

If you like meat, the sandwich is really good.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 chopped white onion

3 finely chopped cloves of garlic

1/3 cup red wine 

(I used Merlot. It's a blue/white label. Brand is Barefoot)

7 cups of canned crushed tomatoes

15 oz. of tomato paste

1 tbsp of dried basil

2 tsp of dried oregano

Salt and pepper as needed

Noodles (How many depending on how many people your serving)

*In a large pot heat up the olive oil over medium heat.

*Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil till they turn translucent (about 5 minutes).

*Add the wine, sturing occasionally (about 3 minutes)

*Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil & oregano. 

*Put in salt and pepper as needed. I found I needed more pepper than salt. 

The sauce was really sweet at first so I also added more basil. I'm sure it was because of the wine I used. The recipe said to use Chianti but I couldn't find it at the store.

*I cooked the sauce for about 1 hour. High heat for a few minutes then low heat. I switched between the two and stirred often. It tasted better the longer it sat.

The recipe said the sauce would serve 6. I would say it could serve at least 10.

Almond Roca

Ingredients

2 cups of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of white sugar

Depending on what you like:

12 oz White Chocolate

12 oz Milk Chocolate

Sliced Almonds

Preparation

Grease 2 9x13 pans
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Usually takes about a minute. Stir every 30 seconds so it doesn't burn.

In a large saucepan melt the butter. Once melted, add the brown & white sugar. Stir the mixture for about 10-15 minutes with the heat on medium the whole time. Look at the 3rd picture down below to see what it should look like when it's done. It should not be sticking to the pan. Once the Almond Roca is done, pour it into 2 9x13 pans. As soon as you pour the mixture into the pans, pour the chocolate on top and spread evenly around to the edges. If you want to add almonds, do so now. Lightly cut the Almond Roca. Put the Almond Roca in the fridge for about 2-3 hours. Once it's hard, take it out and use a spatula to start getting the pieces out. Once you have a few pieces taken out of the pan, use your hands to break the pieces instead of a knife. Doing so makes the Almond Roca stay in squares.

Melted chocolate

Almost Finished... 

It should look like this when it's done.

Spread your toppings on right away before the sugar & butter cool.

I experimented w/ this one and put the chocolate in the pan first.

Tips:

If you dont put the chocolate/nuts on the mixture right away they wont stick to the sugar...

Leave the butter and sugar on the heat a few more minutes than you think. You should start to smell the sugar, and then you'll know it's done. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 homemade or store-bought pie crusts (about 9-inch each)

2 cups water

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 carrots, peeled and cubed

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup butter

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup frozen peas

1 egg

1 tbsp. water

In a pot combine water, chicken, carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken bouillon, pepper and butter. Mix together cornstarch and flour into whipping cream and stir into chicken mixture. Simmer 3 minutes, stirring frequently until thickened. Add peas and set aside.

Roll out two 9-inch pie crusts (I just bought mine instead of making). Place bottom crust into 9-inch pie plate, and shape with your fingers. Pour filling into bottom crust. Roll out top crust; cut slits for steam to escape. Cover filling with top crust. Seal crusts and wave edge with your fingers. Whisk egg with water, and brush top crust with egg wash. 

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. If top crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminium foil. Let sit 15-20 minutes before serving.

Fast & Easy Strawberry Dessert

Ingredients

20-25 smaller strawberries

20-25 blueberries

50 oz of Mascarpone/Cream cheese

5 tbs of powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Wash & dry the strawberries and blueberries.

Cut the bottom off of each strawberry so that they stand up on a plate.

Scoop out the top and stem of the strawberry.

Mix together the cheese, sugar and vanilla.

Place the mixture in a ziploc bag and cut the corner of the bag off to make an opening.

Gently squeeze the cheese into each strawberry and top it with a blueberry.

Burger & Garlic Fries

Garlic Fries

Recipe for Garlic Fries

8 garlic cloves, minced

6 tbs olive oil

3 russet potatoes

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1 1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 440 F.

Mix the garlic & oil in a bowl. Heat up in the microwave for 1 minute.

Pour 5 tbs of the oil onto a baking sheet keeping the garlic in the bowl.

Add the potatoes to the bowl and make sure the oil & garlic gets on all the potatoes.

Wrap the top of the bowl tightly with Saran wrap and microwave till the 

potatoes are almost translucent. It took about 5 minutes in the microwave to get them like that. You gotta take them out every 2 minutes and move them around 

so they get cooked evenly.

Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper & garlic powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the potatoes and toss well to coat.

Lay the potatoes out on the cookie sheet in a single layer and cook for 30-40 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn the potatoes over.

Burger Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tbs ketchup

1 tbs yellow mustard

4 dill pickles (diced)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

Add all of these ingredients together and put as much as you want on top of the burger.